KNOW ABOUT STUPAS

The eight kind of Stupas

(These eight stupas commemorate past stupas built to memorialize significant life events of the Buddha.)

1. PEPUNG CHÖTEN

The Stupa of Heaped Lotuses

When the Buddha was born in Lumbini Garden in Kapilavastu , he took seven steps in each of the four directions, and from each of his footsteps a lotus sprang up. The lotuses in the four directions symbolized The Four Immeasurable: love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. To commemorate this, King Shudhodhana built the stupa known as The Stupa of Heaped Lotuses.

2. DÜDUL CHÖTEN

The Stupa of Conquest Over Mara

At the age of thirty-five, the Buddha defeated the hosts of Mara and attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya. To commemorate this, King Bimbisara built the Stupa of Conquest over Mara. This Stupa is also known as the Stupa of Enlightenment (Jangchub Chöten).

3. TASHI GOMANG CHÖTEN

 The Stupa of  Many Doors

The Buddha turned the First Wheel of Dharma in the Deer Park in Saranath near Varanasi. To commemorate this, the first five disciples of the Buddha built The Stupa of Many Doors.

4. CHOTRUL CHÖTEN

The Stupa of Great Miracles

The Buddha displayed inconceivable miracles in the Jetavana Grove at Shravasti, where he overpowered demons and heretics. To commemorate this, the people of the Lichavi tribe built The Stupa of Great Miracles, which is also known as The Stupa of  Conquest Over the Heretics.

5. LHABAB  CHÖTEN

The Stupa of Buddhas Descent from Devaloka

At the age of forty-two, the Buddha spent a summer retreat in Trayastrimsa, the heavenly realm of the 33 types of devas. There he taught the Dharma to the rebirth of his mother Mahamaya, in order to repay her kindness. He then descended into a garden of udumbara lotuses in the town of Sankasya. To commemorate this, the inhabitants of Sankasya  built The Stupa of Buddhas Descent from Devaloka.

6. YENDUM CHÖTEN

The Stupa of Reconcilation

When the Buddhas cousin, Devdatta, caused schism in the sangha, the Buddha reconciled the devisive factions in the Velluvana Grove at Rajgriha in Magadha. To commemorate this, the inhabitants of Magadha built The Stupa of Reconciliation.

7. NAMGYAL CHÖTEN

The Stupa of Complete Victory

In Vaishali, at the request of Upasaka Tsundra, the Buddha agreed to prolong his life by three months. To commemorate this, the inhabitants of Vaishali built The Stupa of Complete Victory.

8. NYANGDE CHÖTEN

The Stupa of Nirvana

The Buddha passed into mahapsarinirvana in Kushinagara at the age of eighty. To commemorate this, the Malla tribe of Kushinagara built the Stupa of Nirvana.